On Saying Good-bye....

Saying good-bye is a funny thing.  Good-byes make you realize how blessed you really are, how loved you really are, and how hard it really is going to be to walk away.  

I had so many transitions during my years in NYC. I had some of my closest friends move away, roommates move out, and new relationships begin.  It wore my introverted, does not like change personality out but looking back on it I can see how tangibly God provided for me through the waves of comings and goings.   Through all the lunches, dinners, parties, and hang outs in my last weeks in the city I continued to think of the A.A. Milne quote "How lucky I am to have something that makes saying good-bye so hard".  

Here's to the last gatherings with friends, my last days in the city, and my last post about all the moving out of the city happenings...

My last OG Reunion (with the girls who still live in the city) and the last time hosting friends for dinner at 9A
Katherine, Robyn, Erin, and Daniela.  

Last downtown Saturday brunch!
Robyn, Kara, and Erin

Last hangout with my very good friend, like a brother, Neil! 

Last dinner date with these friends! Leigh Ann, Hannah, and Lindsay Ann

Last Staff meeting at Cilantros with my CM staff team!
Regan, Jenni, Meagan, Ariane, and Laura

Last hang out time with the Taylor girls.
Abby, Margaret, and Hannah
(we were trick or treating!)

Last walk in Central Park and time with this friend, Erica! 

And last time with Kate! 

On my last night in the city I went to dinner at Cilantros after church at Redeemer with a few friends.  I frequented this restaurant often and when I told the owner it was my last meal there before I moved He gave me my meal on the house and all the wait staff told me good-bye!  It made me realize how small a big city can feel.
Back Row: Daniel, Bijan, Katherine, Erica, Kate M, Erin, Neil
Front Row: Daniela, Vicky, me, Kate R

I left NYC with a grieving and full heart.  It's funny how you can have 2 such drastic emotions at the same time.  It was so incredibly hard to say good-bye to my friends, but I also felt excited and hopeful for the new life ahead.  Now that I am in Birmingham I miss these friendships greatly!  some days I want to pack up and go back to the familiarity, to the people who know me, and are for me.  Thankfully I have been able to keep up with so many of friends through phone and email and I know I will be back to visit lots.  Saying good-bye to a life that you love is a surreal thing and I am still very much walking through the pain and transition of it all.  Thankfully I serve a God who goes before me and is with me in all the newness and really is my best friend in a season that can feel lonely with new relationships.

Thank you New York for giving me 6.5 awesome years with deep friendships and a life that really did change me for the good!
  
"I've heard it said, That people come into our lives For a reason bringing something we must learn. And we are lead to those who help us most to grow if we let them. And we help them in return. Well, I don't know if I believe that's true But I know I'm who I am today Because I knew you.  Like a comet pulled from orbit as it passes a sun, like a stream that meets a boulder halfway through the wood. Who can say if I've been changed for the better but because I knew you. I have been changed for good."
(from my favorite broadway show, "Wicked")